Some notes on rod action

Tags

bamboo and silk, casting, fly fishing, fly rod, flyfishing, rod action, silk

I suppose that there are three descriptions of rod action: fast, medium and slow, and, of course, all points in between. Forget all the adjectives such as progressive, parabolic etc.

A fast action rod flexes predominantly at the tip

A medium rod has the action moving down the middle part of the rod

A slow action rod bends down into the grip.

Imagine gripping a common playing card on one edge and flicking it with the other hand, then listen for the sound. Next grip the card in the middle and flick, and finally grip it three quarters of the way down and flick again. The sound the card makes gets higher in pitch the more the card is forced to bend nearer the end.

This is exactly the same with a fly rod. If the tip only bends, the rod recovers very quickly, short tip movement equals fast action and tight loops. As the action moves down the rod the tip moves further and further taking longer and longer to recover, making larger loops and slowing down the rod.

Do not be misled by all the hype that tight loops are essential to ‘good’ rod action. A wide loop will allow a fly to be presented more slowly and delicately in situations that need it. When roll casting a slow action rod will roll the line out far more effectively than a fast action rod. For example, this can be seen when using greenheart rods both for roll and traditional spey casting. If one has a slower action rod the wider loop can be offset by using silk lines which are thinner and cut through the wind better. A similar effect can be seen with faster action rods.

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Nick Taransky

Tags

Australia, bamboo, bamboo and silk, flyfishing, Phoenix, silk and bamboo, silk fly lines, Taransky

One way to relax is a day’s fly fishing, another would be  planing a few strips of bamboo, but if you only have a few minutes to spare, take a look at this short video and feel life slowing down!

It is theraputic to see the way Nick Taransky makes a bamboo rod and talks about his craft. Taransky and bamboo is a natural combination, just as bamboo and silk fly lines go together.  Put the three together and you have something very special.

“Silk Fly Lines, as with bamboo as a rod material, the history and tradition is part of it, but they simply perform so much better than any of the plastic lines, it’s a no brainer.” Nick Taransky

“Nick is a keen fly fisherman as well as a fine craftsmen, hand building bamboo fly rods in his workshop for a living. It was a great day as Nick is obviously passionate about his craft and keen to spread the word on how good bamboo fly rods are especially on small bushy streams encountered all over Australia.” Jack McCowan who made the video whilst visiting Nick Taransky’s workshop.

Links:

Nick Taransky Bamboo Rods

Jack McCowan

Phoenix Silk Fly Lines

A Short History of Silk Fly Lines

Tags

bamboo and silk, braiding, casting, England, flyfishing, Kingfisher, Malloch, Mike Brookes, Phoenix, silk fly lines

The Kingfisher braided silk line was the result of a happy marriage between P D Malloch and an expert in the field of braiding. In 1908 in Leicester, (England), they designed and built the first Kingfisher silk fly line together.  It was no accident, since coupled with Mr. Malloch’s vast experience in the world of fishing was his undoubted mathematical ability plus his ability to design and patent, in 1884, the Malloch casting reel, the forerunner of the present fixed spool reel.

The basis for this new type of fishing line, which would replace horsehair, was set against strict criteria set out by Mr. Malloch (see below).  It is this which resulted in the Kingfisher silk fly line and what made it superior to others, the weight and diameter being built into the line at the time of braiding and not by a coating added to a uniform core.

Silk lines enjoyed their heyday and then fell out of favour as new materials became available and cheaper.  However, quality products never entirely go away, and many silk lines remained in use.

In the mid 1970s, not too far away from where the first silk line was made in Leicester, Noel Buxton took up the challenge.  He was a keen and knowledgeable fisherman, with an engineering background – a combination of the original skills that produced the Kingfisher line.  All the original data had been destroyed and, after many years of careful research, Noel produced the Phoenix Line.  In the England, he was designated a National Treasure – and many people all over the world still believe this to be true.  Phoenix silk fly lines thus continued the tradition. Co-incidentally, a similar sequence of events was taking place in Paris, France, and Michel Dubois made silk lines there.  History repeated itself yet again and as Monsieur Dubois retired, the machinery was sold to Jean-Pierre Thebault, who continued to make silk lines in France.  A short time after, Noel Buxton also retired and sold Phoenix to Mike Brookes who continues the same tradition.

A final word from P D Malloch

These are the criteria that Malloch set for the performance of an oil-dressed, braided silk fly line.

1. Made by craftsmen with painstaking care
2. Taper is built in at the time of braiding
3. Soft and pliable
4. Will not stretch or crack
5. Unaffected by extreme variations in temperature
6. Will last for years and years
7. Silk give correct weight for smaller diameter
8. Less wind resistance
9. Quicker, smoother lift from the water
10. Less bulk to place on water and therefore less disturbance
11. Allow delicate presentation of flies
12. Gives more speed and positive feel
13. Improved casting powers in both distance and accuracy

And a word of caution from the Kingfisher booklet issued with their lines –

” We do recommend running a line off the reel at the end of the day – or wiping it and then running it back on the drier – but some people never have done this and it hasn’t really mattered. After all, there are lots of things we should do but don’t – so if you are the type that doesn’t bother – we won’t either, though you may have to buy another line before a fisherman in Nottingham (England) did – his lasted 42 years before being caught in the propeller of a boat at his local reservoir.”